Time Lapse
by omateido
Summary: HG/SS Ummm....a little bit of time travel....but not the usual. The Trio jump back in time to apprehend a time jumper, but they end up in their school days. What will Hermione do when she sees the dead love of her life again?


The murmur of students in the Great Hall seemed to be subdued by the soft snow shown falling from the enchanted ceiling. In the dead of winter, even conversations were blanketed by the cold. The Sunday brunch was more full than usual, no one wanting to go outside to play, or stay inside to study.

A gasp rose up from the end of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables near the entrance. A short man with ragged clothing, long hair covering his face and a stubble beard had just fallen out of thin air without the crack of apparition.

Just as Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape rose and started towards the end of the hall with wands raised. As the students fell back, another body fell out of nothing, but she kept her footing and walked purposefully towards to crumpled figure.

Everyone watched in silence as she pulled him up and slammed him against the far wall. She raised her wand and conjured a purple ball of flame.

"Harry, Ron, I've got him." A gasp went up when everyone recognized the voice of Hermione Granger. "Here are the coordinates, if you're not here in seven minutes I'll transport him myself."

"Miss Granger?" Hermione jumped and turned around to face Professor Dumbledore. Although her grip on the man was strong, her face had gone deathly pale. The headmaster took in the woman standing in front of him. She was at least 25, but it was undeniably the bushy haired student whose 16 year old self had just left the Great Hall minutes earlier.

"One moment Headmaster." She turned to the ball of flame "We're in our school days, get here now." With an intricate wand movement, and muttered words the purple flame burned brighter, then disappeared.

"Hello Headmaster." Hermione said quietly.

"Care to explain, my dear? I just saw a much younger version of you finish her Sunday brunch." Hermione closed her eyes briefly, and spoke as if by rote.

"I'm going to have to ask you to remove as many people from the vicinity as possible. As part of the Offices of Time for the Ministry of Magic it is my job to apprehend time jumpers and administer Obliviations as required."

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Hermione turned to a young Ron Weasley who was walking towards her.

"Ron, you need to leave now. Harry too. You're older counter parts are on their way." She turned pleading eyes to Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, could you escort everyone here to the room of requirement where I will join you shortly to-" she cut off as the man in her arms started to struggle. "Artemus if you don't stop struggling I will do a body bind spell, and as you well know, I won't be able to lift in the present." The man looked up through his curtain of ratty hair and glowered. "Where was I? Oh, right, for Obliviations."

McGonagall and Dumbledore had a hushed conversation, before McGonagall started rounding up everyone in the Great Hall, making sure no one could slip out first. Hermione looked at the man hiding behind his hair, and still lightly struggling against her grip on him. She sighed and pulled a piece of plastic from her robes tied his hands together.

"Where's your wand Artemus?" He just growled at her. "Good Gods Artemus, you're beaten, ok? It's been 2 years, give in."

"I love her!" the man screamed at the top of his lungs, causing Dumbledore and Snape to draw their wands once again. "Why can't you let me save her?"

"Artemus, you tried. She would die again anyway." Hermione sighed and checked her watch.

"And what if it's the man you love? How can you be so cold? He's standing right behind you, and you can't even look him in the face." He spat the accusation at her, she withdrew as if slapped for a moment, then grabbed his robes in front and slammed him back into the wall.

"You don't know anything about me."

"You could save them both. They're just standing there. Watching us. Don't you want to tell them-" his voice was muffled as she covered his mouth with her hands.

"You know the rules of inter-time travel. It's because of you that we made them. Not a word about the future." She raised her eyebrow in a question, and when he nodded, she released her hand.

"It's your fault, really." He said in a conversational tone as he sank to the floor, his back against the wall.

"If you weren't such a thieving bastard, none of this would have happened. I hate you."

"I hate you more." Artemus said into his hands.

"What are you, 12?" That seemed to quiet him, and Snape and Dumbledore watched in silence as she looked anywhere in the hall to avoid their eyes.

"You could kiss him." Artemus said suddenly. "You're going to have to Obliviate him anyway. Don't you miss him?"

"So help me god, Artemus, I will kill you here and now and no one will know any better." She said, her voice breaking slightly.

"No you won't." He returned her glare with a smile. "The same reason you won't tell the man you almost died for that you love him, while he's standing right there." Hermione heard Severus Snape shift uncomfortably. "The same reason they let you head up this little time jumping task force. I know you, Hermione Granger, more than you think."

Hermione slowly turned her eyes back to Artemus' from her inspection of the floor. "You-" she ground out, "you don't know anything about me, you're entire life is one fantasy after another, no matter who gets hurt in between."

"So it does hurt?"

"Shut Up!" She almost shouted, and then took a deep calming breath. Just as she opened her mouth Harry Potter and Ron Weasley fell out of the air next to her, just catching themselves before they fell. "Where the BLOODY hell have you been?"

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked as he turned to look at Dumbledore and Snape, standing uncomfortably and watching the older versions of the students.

"Shit." Ron muttered quietly. "Harry, you take her, I'll take him."

Harry took Hermione by the arm and pulled her into a hug as she burst into body-heaving sobs. "You're alright Hermione."

Ron pulled Artemus up his bound hands. "You, are a right shit."

"I was trying to make her understand!" He said looking between the crying Hermione, who was slowly quieting, to the surprisingly calm Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape who was looking between Harry and Hermione and Artemus and Ron, a look of shocked disbelief on his face. "She's the only one who could understand how much I loved her!"

"Listen, we get it. But it's not her place to change the law. It was a low fucking blow, ok?" Ron said searching Artemus' robes for his wand. On finding it, he pulled it out placed it in an inner pocket of his own robes. "Where's the potion Artemus?"

"I don't have anymore. That was the last of it." Harry and Hermione, who had joined the two, the latter looking a little worse for wear, stopped.

"You used the last of your potion to throw this in my face?" Hermione said quietly. "You were wrong, I hate you more."

"Just look at him!" Artemus' voice had reached desperation. "Just know what it's like to feel what I feel! Please!"

"You think I don't know?" Hermione's voice went shrill in her anger.

"Hermione, maybe we should just go." Harry said, carefully watching his old Potions Master, who was watching Hermione carefully. Hermione took a deep breath.

"Harry, you go to the Room of Requirements, there is a whole room full of people waiting to be Obliviated with Minerva."

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Harry asked quietly, his eyes darting up to the two professors.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked into the dark eyes of Severus Snape, and said quietly. "I just want to stay here a little longer." Harry nodded and started for the 7th floor.

"Oi, Harry!" Ron said when he was almost out of sight. "Don't forget the cloak. Won't do to add to the Obliviation total." With a nod Harry pulled out his glimmering cloak and disappeared under it. "I'll read him his rights." Ron said dragging Artemus to the Slytherin side of the Great Hall and pulling out a five-foot long scroll. He sighed and started reading to the man slumped on the floor below him.

An awkward silence drew out between the three remaining people. Severus Snape suddenly raised his wand and the doors to the Great Hall shut and locked. Ron stopped reading for a moment, and then returned with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Thank You Sev-" Hermione sighed, "Professor. I'm not at my best at the moment." He nodded stiffly.

"Well my dear," Albus began, waving his wand to the Gryffindor table, a tea service appeared, "would you care for some tea? A sandwich perhaps?"

Hermione couldn't help but smile. "No thank you, headmaster. Anything eaten in the past has a tendency of forcibly removing itself from your body in the present." She said, earning a chuckle from Dumbledore.

"Severus?" Dumbledore asked the potions master.

"Perhaps something a little stronger Albus?" Dumbledore smiled and the tea service was replaced with Firewhiskey and tumblers with a wave of his wand.

"Perhaps, Headmaster, you would have the one item I can ingest on you?" Hermione said, smiling so brightly both men stopped to look at her instead of reaching for the decanters.

"What would that be my dear?"

"Lemon drops." Hermione grinned when she heard the chuckle rise up from Dumbledore's chest, and she could see the slight twitch at Severus' mouth that meant he wanted to laugh.

"Of course my dear." He put a hand in his pocket of his robe, and an entire bowl floated towards her. She took two; one she placed in her pocket, then floated the bowl towards Slytherin.

"Oi! Ronald." Ron looked up and grinned.

"Trust Albus Dumbledore." He said with a grin as he took one for himself, two for his pocket, and one he tossed at Artemus.

Severus Snape poured himself two fingers of firewhiskey, and turned back to Hermione.

"And why, Miss Granger, are lemon drops the only food you can stomach?"

Hermione took a deep breath, glanced at Artemus, then leaned forwards a little, and Severus stiffened infinitesimally, "They're the secret ingredient to the time travel potion." She said in a small whisper. She leaned back, "I can tell you this because we will obliviate you, but knowing Artemus he'll just escape again and try to make it himself."

"You all seem rather fond of Artemus beneath the first layer of hatred." Dumbledore said, watching Hermione carefully.

"Well, it's true love. It's the only reason he keeps jumping. He can't save her life without her dying 24 hours later. So he keeps jumping to find her." Her voice got quiet, and she looked straight into Severus' eyes, "We've all lost people we love. He's just a little more stubborn than most." She tilted her head as Severus' eyebrows raised slightly, before he schooled his features again. He cleared his throat.

"Who created this potion?" He asked, taking a fortifying sip of firewhiskey.

Hermione laughed quietly, but it sounded pained. "You and I."

She saw his grip tighten on the glass and sighed. Just as Severus opened his mouth, Harry stormed into the Great Hall.

"Can I just say, Draco was a little git when he was a teenager. I had almost forgotten." Hermione laughed.

"Well, you remember what Sev used to say." The hall became deathly silent. "I…sorry." She said, and looked over to see that Ron was almost finished.

"Right, let's go. Harry you get Dumbledore, I'll get Professor Snape."

Harry nodded, and he and Dumbledore walked towards the other end of the hall, talking quietly.

"Right. So, I know you can withstand Obliviation, but I need you to let this go."

"How do you-" Severus started, "Right. I'll try."

"No, I _need_ you to let this go. Please." He nodded stiffly. Hermione sighed and took out her wand. She started her intricate wand movements, but stopped half way through. "You have to lower your mental blocks. They're too strong."

"I'm afraid, Miss Granger, it is not easy to lower walls I have had for twenty years." He said with a sneer.

"Right then." Hermione took a deep breath and took a step closer. "I'm afraid I know only one way to get you to lower those walls." Severus tensed as Hermione grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. She felt him tense, and after a long minute, she felt him slowly relax into this kiss. His arm went around her waist, and he pulled her closer. She pulled back slightly, resting her head against his. "Relax Severus." She started the spell again, and tried not to be distracted by his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. Finally she finished, and stunned him before he could open his eyes, lowering his body to the floor.

She looked up to see Harry, Ron and Artemus looking at her warily.

"Right, let's go." Ron and Hermione took out one vial each, and Harry took out two, handing one to Artemus. They all drank them down silently. As they stood in a circle, wands waving patterns unseen before by anyone but them, Ron sent an reanimation charm to the two men left in the hall as they started to float upwards, and disappeared into thin air.


End file.
